*Blow-by-Blow Account Of How Residents Fled For Precious Lives
*…Desert Area Of Violence
*What Parents, Shop Owners, Others Did
*Implications On Housing
*Police Speak
By Felix Durumbah, Abuja
It was a sight to behold yesterday.
News of the clash involving suspected armed Fulani herdsmen and a farmer, the latter backed by local vigilante, in Aso A, near Mararaba, the commercial hub of Nasarawa State, showed up the level of fear of herdsmen in the area.
Aso A, a newly developing community of several thousands of residents,was the scene of the violence reportedly sparked by a young Fulani man who was caught harvesting mangoes from the farm of an unidentified local.
The alleged action snowballed into an altercation between both parties with some members of the invited local vigilante group siding with the farmer.
People&Politics gathered that in the heat of the argument, unprintable, and sensitive, words which threw up the ethno-religious divides of the contending parties, were freely hurled at each other by the parties, resulting in a vigilante allegedly shooting the herder dead.
Like wildfire, People&Politics further learned, news of the shooting of one of their own spread among other Fulani youths in the axis, promptly igniting the prospects of a full blown ‘war’ as they angrily mobilized, armed themselves reportedly with daggers, guns, charms, long machetes and other weapons, then invaded the residence of the farmer, who had reportedly fled the area.
Sources recounted that what followed was mayhem as the Fulani uncorked their ire, literally vomiting same on the community, in the process allegedly burning houses, a car and generally attacking persons found within the vicinity, triggering panic with people consequently running for dear lives.
It got scarier, People&Politics observed, as the unfolding events in Aso A immediately generated a domino effect in adjoining settlements such as Rugar, Aso C, Kabayi and others.
Some of the listed localities are about two kilometres away from the scene of violence.
As different accounts of the incident hit residents, about 9.41am, in Rugar, which is located close to Mararaba, loud screams rent the air as people could be seen running hastily seeking the ‘safety’ of their homes.
The shrieks of several fleeing women and children was spine-chilling.
The usual macho boldness of many men quickly deserted them as they visibly joined the race to save their lives.
“Fulani herdsmen are coming o! Fulani herdsmen are coming o!” echoed from one runner to the other even as others, their faces grim, spared no moment to respond to inquiries flung at them from few persons who dared ask from the confines of their house gates.
Business activities were suddenly fractured with shop owners quickly shutting their facilities and scramming.
Patrons at a particular Bet9Ja shop, known for their loud, rancorous arguments, on sighting the mass of humanity running away and the frenzy in their speed, abandoned their betting and scampered off in different directions.
Even the female manager of the shop, a similarly loud personality, bolted from the place to an unknown destination, leaving the door of the office open and exposing to possible theft the inviting array of computer equipment, plasma TV sets, furniture and others. It took some time before she gathered herself and returned to man the shop again, sounding agitated about the herdsmen.
Some of the pool/game betters later found courage to return about the evening period only when information had filtered in that the military and police had taken over Aso Pada and restored some level of calm.
Situation In Schools
What’s more, in the heat of the chaos, some parents stormed the litter of private schools in the area, seizing their children and wards from inside the classrooms and dashing off with them.
Mostly hit were Dan Caleb, Santa Vigo and LivDav schools –three of the most popular institutions in the axis.
A parent, who wished to be identified simply as Madam Joy, told People&Politics: “You’re asking why I ran to the school to pick my child? Do you know what Fulani herdsmen do to their victims?
“Are you just coming into Nigeria from abroad? I’ll be the last to allow my child to be butchered by these people. Everyday we read in the news the atrocities of these people, and I should allow my child to be their next victim? Never!”
At Aso C, Kabayi and other communities in the axis, the story was virtually the same: eye witnesses told stories of fear of the herdsmen, imagined or real, and how scared residents were so afraid that they (herders) would return in days or weeks ahead to avenge on them, the incident in Aso A, several kilometres away.
Area Of Violence Empty Overnight
People&Politics reliably gathered also that many residents of Aso A deserted their homes on Wednesday night and passed the night in locations deemed safer.
Such locations included inside Abuja City (for persons with relatives who live there), Nyanya, Karu, Kugbo, Abacha Barracks, all in the relatively more secure Federal Capital City (FCC).
Implications On Housing
The bloody clash in Aso A, People&Politics found out, could affect housing development in the area.
Many home owners in the community are serving or retired federal civil servants fleeing the astronomical rent in FCC and who saw Aso A and environs as a relatively more affordable option. Some took loans to build the homes, with scheduled repayment still on.
A plot of land in Aso A is said to go for N5million and above.
But, a land/housing agent familiar with deals in the area, who identified himself as Dave Chris, a pastor with a new generation church in the axis, told People&Politics that the uncomfortable realization that herdsmen can now invade the area could spell doom for housing development in the community.
According to him, developers and potential occupants routinely consider location security nowadays before ploughing in money.
“What happened in Aso is very bad for our business. Who will buy lands, build houses or even agree to rent accommodation in a place where armed herdsmen can easily move in and unleash havoc, including death, given the level of insecurity nowadays?” he queried.
The agent added:”Development can only come in an atmosphere of assured and sustainable peace. Watch and see: many tenants will soon pack out of Aso to safer places; many home owners will put their houses up for sale, so as to escape future, possibly deadly, conflict, but who will buy?
Who will want to risk their very lives and those of their families unnecessarily?”
On behalf of the association of estate agents, he called on the State government to beef up public confidence by immediately constructing a proper police station in Aso A, saying “a mere police outpost is what is available there and when the farmer-herder clash occurred,the outpost didn’t respond adequately due to lack of capacity.”
The agent’s last assertion could not be confirmed as of press time.
But, reacting to the bloody clash, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ramhan Nansel, traced the genesis of yesterday’s confrontation to encroachment on the farmer’s crops.
According to him, the issue broke out when a Fulani herder allegedly encroached on farmland and moved to harvest mangoes for his cattle.
He stated that the action triggered a war of words between the herder,on the one side, and the farm owner and local vigilante, on the other.
Nansel added that during the altercation, a vigilante reportedly shot the herdsman dead -a development, he noted, that sparked angry reactions among Fulani youths who then mobilised for an attack on the community.
The PPRO stated: “An incident like that happened between last night and the early hours of this (yesterday’s) morning.
“Information was received that a corpse of a Fulani man was found, and due to that, the Fulani people came for reprisal.
“Our investigation revealed that the herder encroached into somebody’s farmland and tried to harvest mango trees to feed his cattle. A fight broke out, and a vigilante shot the herder, leading to his death and this crisis.
“So far, the CP has deployed security to the area, and normalcy has been restored.
“Three corpses of Fulani herdsmen have been recovered and taken to the hospital, while one suspect has been arrested.”
*PHOTO CAPTION: Some of the burnt houses.
